DiSSCo

The Distributed System for Scientific Collections (DiSSCo) is a new European research infrastructure (RI) for natural science collections.

The DiSSCo RI aims to create more integration of European collections by digitally unifying all natural science resources, ensuring single access where all data is easily found, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR principles) and building on shared curation policies and practices.

DiSSCo: a research infrastructure to harmonise access to natural history collections in Europe.

DiSSCo represents the largest formal agreement ever between natural history museums, botanical gardens and universities holding collections worldwide.

DiSSCo is primarily a service offering. It will create a single access point for integrated data study, analysis and interpretation through a wide range of digital services provided by its community.

At the French level, the national network of naturalist collections (RECOLNAT) has been and continues to be actively involved in building DiSSCo. The natural link in scope and project between the two infrastructures makes them mirror infrastructures of one another, one at national level, the other at European level. Today, RECOLNAT is recognised as the French nodal point of DiSSCo and participates in the DiSSCo steering committee, executive committee and strategic committee.

DiSSCo Prepare outlines the IR to be

The DiSSCo Prepare project brings together 30 European institutions and aims to foreshadow the infrastructure that will become operational in 2026. It is a three-year European project (2020-2023) with a budget of 4 million euros. 

Together with the SYNTHESYS+, COST Mobilise and ICEDIG projects, this preparatory work is helping to define common standards and rules, as well as an architecture and digital tools that will allow a single access to all European naturalist collections

DiSSCo : L’intégration européenne à la lumière des collections d’histoire naturelle

© MNHN

Key contact people at the Muséum

  • François Dusoulier (francois.dusoulier [@] mnhn.fr)
  • Vanessa Demanoff (vanessa.demanoff [@] mnhn.fr)
  • Michel Guiraud (michel.guiraud [@] mnhn.fr)
  • Salomé Landel (salome.landel [@] mnhn.fr)
  • Katharine Worley (katharine.worley [@] mnhn.fr)
  • Eva Perez (eva.perez [@] mnhn.fr)

To find out more

Dissco

Dissco prepares